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Hasakah, Syria – On Saturday, a Kurdish man was reportedly kidnapped from the Aziziyah neighborhood of the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, while returning home, local sources reported.

The deteriorating security conditions in northeastern Syria evident through the repeated cases of abduction and disappearance of civilians. In some cases, the perpetrators demand a ransom –which usually reaches thousands of dollars– to release the victim. In other cases the abductees are being later found in regime-held prisons.

Speaking to ARA News, Jiwan Khalaf, an eyewitness based in Aziziyah, confirmed that four masked men with a silver-colored car kidnapped Ramadan Hizni Youssef at 10:00 pm on Saturday, while returning from his restaurant.

Khalaf also pointed out that the Aziziyah neighborhood is almost entirely under the control of the pro-regime Arab militias of the National Defense and the Facilities Defense Force.

“They (pro-regime militias) are most likely behind Hizni’s abduction,” a family member told ARA News on the condition of anonymity.

Commenting on the incident, Reshid Sekvan, Syrian Kurdish journalist from Qamishli, stated to ARA News that the recent suicide attack against civilians on the Kurdish national day of Newroz in the al-Muftin neighborhood in Hasakah –where dozens lost their lives– has left a negative impact on the security situation in the city.

Sekvan pointed out that the security situation has become more fragile, “especially amid the continues attacks by IS militants from the countryside, and the suppressive policies of the pro-Assad militias which share control in the city.”